Five Venezuelan opposition figures who have been holed up in Argentina's Embassy in Caracas for more than a year are now in the United States after a "rescue" operation, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Tuesday.
He gave no details other than to say that the opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's regime were freed in "a precise operation."
"The US welcomes the successful rescue of all hostages held by the Maduro regime at the Argentinian Embassy in Caracas," Rubio wrote on X
"Following a precise operation, all hostages are now safely on US soil," he added.
Argentina's government also confirmed the operation in a statement on social media, saying the five had been transferred to the United States in a joint operation.
President Javier Milei expressed special thanks to Rubio for his “personal commitment to this operation, which made it possible for these true heroes to finally regain their freedom.”
“The national government deeply values the efforts made to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those who were under Argentine protection for a long time from the persecution of Nicolás Maduro’s regime,” the statement concluded.
The five opposition figures – Pedro Urruchurtu, Humberto Villalobos, Claudia Macero, Omar González and Magalí Meda – have been sheltering at the Argentine Embassy in Caracas since March of last year, after prosecutors issued arrest warrants accusing them of attempts to destabilise the country.
They are close to opposition leader María Corina Machado, who has led a movement against Maduro's government since a disputed presidential election last year.
Maduro claimed victory in that poll, but several Latin American countries, independent observers and world powers demanded the election commission share results data to back his claim.
The dispute sparked mass protests and a crackdown that left 28 people dead and 2,400 behind bars. About 500 of those remain locked up, though activists say dissident arrests have continued.
The situation plunged the economic crisis-wracked country into further turmoil, with the United States reimposing sanctions under President Donald Trump.
– TIMES/AFP
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